Ma poi non capisco perchè ti scandalizzi tanto per l'accesso all'hardware da parte di DirectX quanto...

Direct Rendering Open Source Project

The Direct Rendering Infrastructure, also known as the DRI, is a framework for allowing direct access to graphics hardware in a safe and efficient manner. It includes changes to the X server, to several client libraries, and to the kernel. The first major use for the DRI is to create fast OpenGL implementations.

Che è la stessa cosa che l'HAL di DirectX fa per Direct3D e DirectDraw